There’s little doubt that mobile is here to stay, and its growing influence can be seen in pockets and purses around the globe. Smartphone penetration in the UAE, for example, stands at 78 percent, which is almost 10 percent higher than in the U.S. Despite the forward momentum, however, recent Nielsen research suggests that marketers have yet to tap the full potential of mobile, even though smartphone users in the UAE are warming up to seeing ads on their phones.

According to a recent Nielsen study, 41 percent of smartphone users in the UAE said they noticed mobile ads in the past 30 days. Compared with other markets, the UAE’s mobile ad recall numbers have some catching up to do. The rates in Singapore and Malaysia, for example are 76 and 80 percent, respectively.

Marketers use different formats to reach mobile consumers. Currently, mobile users in the UAE notice ads via text messaging / SMS the most, followed by applications and video.

Mobile advertising definitely piques consumers’ curiosity, as almost half (48%) confessed that they sometimes look at them and occasionally click on them to get more information.

Attractive innovative mobile advertising formats play an important role in helping brands engage consumers and spur sales. To succeed in the evolving mobile landscape, marketers need to focus on providing unique personalized experiences and think of new ways on how they can explore these further.

METHODOLOGY

Nielsen Smartphone Insights is a syndicated survey providing a detailed understanding of the smartphone and feature phone market in UAE & KSA. The fieldwork for UAE was conducted in the first quarter of 2014. It was conducted through 1,505 face-to-face interviews to assess the incidence of smartphone use. The final sample included smartphone and non-smartphone users.